The Municipality of Walvis Bay and the Namibia Ports Authority (Namport) will host this year's Walvis Bay Maritime Festival, set to take place from 30 September to 5 October 2024. Photo Leandrea Mouers
The Municipality of Walvis Bay and the Namibia Ports Authority (Namport) will host this year's Walvis Bay Maritime Festival, set to take place from 30 September to 5 October 2024. Photo Leandrea Mouers

Week-long Walvis Bay Maritime Festival Plans Underway

30 September – 5 October
The Municipality of Walvis Bay and the Namibia Ports Authority are joining forces to host the Walvis Bay Maritime Week.
Leandrea Mouers
The Municipality of Walvis Bay and the Namibia Ports Authority (Namport) will host this year's Walvis Bay Maritime Festival, set to take place from 30 September to 5 October 2024.

According to the latest council meeting agenda, the Department of Community and Economic Development (CED) facilitated the establishment of the Walvis Bay Maritime Festival on 4 August 2023.

"The festival was aimed at highlighting the contribution made by the Blue Economy to the town's economy by allowing industry players to share and showcase their work and products with residents and visitors alike. The festival also provided opportunities for industry sectors to inform and inspire the youth and learners about the different career options the maritime sector offers in the 21st century. The festival took place from 4 to 5 August 2023 under the theme, 'Preserving a Healthy Ocean Ecosystem for a Resilient Economy,' and it was a resounding success."

For the 2024 instalment of this festival, the Walvis Bay Municipality has merged the Walvis Bay Maritime Festival with the Namibia Ports Authority's Maritime Week to form the Walvis Bay Maritime Week, scheduled for 30 September to 5 October 2024, under the theme "30 Years of Safely Navigating the Sea."

"Owing to the commonalities of the two events celebrating the same industries, the two institutions decided to merge the events to form the Walvis Bay Maritime Week."

This event creates an opportunity to facilitate investment promotion in the town by highlighting opportunities and economic potential.

"To foster the ideal environment for investment promotion, it is proposed to host an Investment Promotion Excursion and Conferencing Dinner for invited guests. The excursion aims to physically showcase what the town has to offer, identify opportunities, and demonstrate economic gaps to create synergy with the existing industry or the emerging energy sector."

The agenda explained that this will serve as a build-up to the conference dinner by creating the appropriate context for guests to discuss sectoral investment portfolios they are aligning to their interests and identify potential partners. During this planned investment conferencing dinner, the Council is seeking to entice potential investors to identify areas for investment, growth, and development, and to identify potential investment partnerships aimed at bringing about quality investment that will improve Walvis Bay's economy. The office is currently soliciting sponsorships to aid with the hosting of the exhibition, excursion, and conference dinner.

It further stated that the commercial part of the event will commence on 3 October 2024. “The festival aims to attract a combination of about 80 local, regional, and international exhibitors, covering all aspects of the maritime sector, including educational, business, and corporate. The educational part of the event will be held in the Municipal Town Hall, under the management of the Namibia Ports Authority, with the following series of activities: exhibition stands by institutes of higher education, corporations/OMAS interested in career fairs and/or awarding study bursaries, and presentations by universities, corporations, and OMAS on career options and appropriate fields of study in the maritime sector.”

The Council has made a budgetary provision on the festival expenditure vote No. 0360/054/000 and 0360/900/000 to the tune of N$900,000 of which N$700,000 is allocated to this event.

"However, this cost is subject to change depending on the response from various sponsors. Thus far, the Namibia Fish Consumption Trust, DEBMARINE, and NAMDOCK have indicated their interest in assisting with various activities. Final confirmation will be made before the end of July 2024."

It was thus recommended that the Council grant approval for the hosting of the Walvis Bay Maritime Week 2024 in partnership with the Namibia Ports Authority.

"It is also recommended that the Council grant permission to host the Investment Promotion Excursion and Conferencing Dinner with the assistance of the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB)."

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Republikein 2024-12-03

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